How many critical moment were there in your life?

Every moment is critical, isn’t it? Couldn’t I cause things to go horribly wrong in any number of ways at just about any time? If I were to drop my pants right now, my life would take a very unpleasant turn. Under different circumstances the same action could have a much more positive outcome ahem.

What @thorninmud said. I’ve avoided major collisions just by the flick of my hand a couple degrees.

If you mean crucial decisions, I’ve had a few. I’d be Jewish and living in Israel if I had made a different decision years ago…I also wouldn’t have my beautiful daughter, so I’m glad that I made the decisions that I have. (I like who I am now… I’d probably like who I would be if I chose differently, but once you make certain decisions, there’s no looking back)

I can think of a few.
1)In college I wavered between hanging out with my roommate, a cool guy and a drinker, or the quiet guy across the hall. It was so close…. but I went with the guy. I did well in school and finished and have been successful ever since.
My roommate became an alcoholic, failed classes and dropped out.
2) I turned down the hit of coke from a friends.
3) I chose L over S. While I was attracted to both, S turned out to be a disaster waiting to happen.
4) I had the choice of working at three companies. I picked “G” and am glad I did. The other two companies went out of business.

My big “earth shattering” decision was to not wear my seatbelt. I would probably not have been seriously injured, not have married my husband,
probably not have returned to
Christ… Life is full of “might
haves” When I was talking
about the “might have beens”
to my therapist, she reminded me that thinking about them might make me crazy. I think we really can’t help ourselves sometimes, though. I know that my life would have turned out differently, but only God knows what it would have been like. Overall, I think that I’m happy with the way things are. It might not be what I expected, but I don’t think that I’d change the way it turned out.

Too many critical moments in a cops career to mention.

@jon65pennington, now I’m VERY curious! I admire cops for the courage and bravery their job requires, I don’t think that I could be that brave.

*Withdraws a bit at the thought… Exhaustingly and honestly… My entire life has literally been a messed up bullshit bit of drama and nonsense that most days even I myself don’t fully understand. It has NOT been a “good” experience… But I am working on it, as well as myself.

Many, many.. but the big ones I can easily recall are:

1) Deciding to not marry my Japanese fiance and move from the small Japanese town I’d settled in. I have a clear picture of how my life would have looked if I’d stayed. My decision to move back to the States and start a new career path was definitely for the better. (In hindsight.)

2) Deciding between a “safe” job and a more cutting edge tech job. I had two offers – and knew we’d be needing a period of stability (for our young family..we planned to have babies) – and both offers were very good. I chose the more conservative (“safe”) job offer after MUCH deliberation. It did end up being better for me in the long run. The other company went under…so I likely would have ended up laid off there.

3) Had I not met my dearest friend H in University I would have been pretty miserable at my super preppy college. Luckily I found a kindred spirit (crying in the hallway in our Dorm) in my first month at college. She’s ended up a lifelong friend.

wow…so so soooo many. Things that seemed trivial at the time, but you realize later were your one shot…people I’ve met who’ve inspired me, people I’ve met who’ve shown me what NOT to be. Really, I dont think a person could count all of the crucial moments.

Some of mine: Joining a fraternity in college; joining the particular fraternity in college. Deciding to finally get sober. Marrying the woman I married. Deciding to get a divorce.

A lot of other things were not so much critical decisions (although they had a great impact on my life) as much as they were evolutionary. Not doing homework in high school was not some big decision, but when I was applying to schools, it took Harvard and Yale out of the picture. I went to school where I was accepted.

I have to remind myself that if I had taken some other paths, it would still be me on that path. So if had gone to Harvard like I really wanted to, I would have had alcohol affect my academics the same way, just at a more prestigious level.

What do you call an alcoholic dropout from Harvard? Unemployed.

Some BIG, some little, at least 6 every year of my life, so I’ll make a guess at 408.

One slip on some ice outside of 7-Eleven in 1999 than resulted in back surgery, three years of physio on my neck, loss of use of three fingers on my left hand, and losing my memory for over a year….instant change of life in under five seconds. However, because of it, I have such a deep appreciation for knowing and loving whom my children are, being able to walk unassisted, and realizing that life can change in an instant, so be THANKFUL for each day that it doesn’t. =)

Every day there are critical moments. They may not seem like much, but looking back, each one lead me to where I am today. I am not happy with the moments I went through during my separation and divorce (due to my ex’s ridiculous set of decisions during her own critical moments), but I wouldn’t have my children if I hadn’t stayed with and married their mother along the way. To me, each moment with them is pretty critical, whether we are sitting at the table eating dinner, laying on the couch reading a book with them, watching TV or playing a game, coaching their teams, helping with their homework, or watching them sleep.

There are no ordinary moments.

Lots and lots more I suspect in the future.
We all have choices to make.